Assembly
by SironaFlett .o.x.o
Summary: AU!Avengers Steve, Tony, Bruce, Thor, Natasha and Clint are in their senior year of High School and with it comes with a lot of responsibility, which they actively try and avoid.
1. Chapter 1

_**AU!Avengers  
The Avengers are in High School, long before they get their status as superheroes and things are either going up top, or so bad none can cope. Follow them in their last year with Marvel Characters that you may know or some that you may not know. Watch relationships burn, fall, and grow.**_

_**This is Assembly.**_

_**This is the first AU!Fanfiction I have ever done and it was made in collaboration with my sister Beth who came up with brilliant ideas. And I put pen to paper.**_

_**Enjoy**_

…**.**

Something was falling out of the sky around S. Lee's School on Manhattan Island. It had hit three kids already, marking them with blue paint. Some were looking around bewildered, others were looking tearful and some of the older students were wetting themselves laughing. Bruce had gotten off his motorbike and was walking along the school courtyard, happy to be back at a place he felt accepted after a long and boring summer vacation. An arrow whizzed past his head, narrowly missing him and hitting a small pensive looking student on the shoulder.

Bruce picked up the arrow before making sure the kid was alright. His shoulder was stained bright blue. The arrow was a harmless plastic kid's toy with a piece of cloth wrapped around the arrowhead. The cloth had been stained blue.

Bruce sighed and looked up. He held the arrow aloft. "CLINT! BETTER RUN BEFORE MARIA CATCHES YOU!"

"CLINT BARTON!" Too late.

Clint looked down from his perch on the school roof. He waved at Bruce and Maria Hill, the principal's secretary, grinning from ear to ear.

"WHAT'S UP BRUCE?" He bellowed. "Oh, she looks pissed."

Miss Hill stood tapping her foot as Clint climbed down from the roof via the drain pipe and stood in front of her proudly. He zipped up his hoodie and tucked his hands into his pockets.

"You're looking good. Did you go to Malibu in the end? I heard Coulson was also there. Did you guys have a thing?" Clint asked, still smirking.

"What do you think you are doing Clint?" Miss Hill said as Bruce edged around her, smiling slightly.

"See you later Bruce!" Clint waved him away. "I was weeding out the whiny little juniors from the ones who are going to make it big."

"Do you think that's acceptable behaviour?" Miss Hill asked folding her arms.

"The education system does it on a daily basis; I just thought I'd help along." Clint shrugged.

"Right that's it, with me." Miss Hill said, pulling him inside the school. "First day back and you're already causing-" She seemed to lose herself in her mutterings as they made their way quietly up to Principal Fury's office.

It was a large room made up of pretty much glass and a circular steel desk. Beyond that, there was a separate room for Fury. Clint couldn't remember whether he liked the room or not, but the waiting room was pretty awesome.

He wasn't the least bit surprised when he saw Tony Stark already sitting outside Fury's door, with a cigarette in hand. Tony rarely changed, heavy metal t-shirt, jeans, trainers, he was now sporting a good deal of facial fuzz which made him look really grown up.

Hill showed Clint to the seat beside Tony as she plucked the cigarette from his hand and stamped it out with her heel. Tony lowered his purple tinted sunglasses, revealing that he was slightly hung-over, with dark circles encasing his eyes. To spite Miss Hill, he lit another cigarette and took a long drag.

"Jesus, Tony," Clint said. "Were you drinking all of summer?"

"Not all of summer," Tony shrugged, taking another drag before handing the cigarette to Clint. "I haven't drank since Monday."

"Today is Tuesday," Clint said, flicking some of the ash away.

"Oh bugger." Tony muttered. He stretched, leaning back against the hard plastic chair. "What did you do to get yourself in here so early in the school year?"

"I was firing arrows at some of the juniors, trying to weed out some of them, but apparently that's unethical."

"Doesn't the educational system do that though? A bit hypocritical of them…"

"That's what I thought. But then again, they don't smack the kids over the head with blue paint," Clint replied, grinning slightly.

"Ah, touché," Tony muttered taking his cigarette back.

"I could ask you the same question,"

"What?"

"Why are you here so early?"

"What's the start of the school year without a lecture from my favourite principal in the whole wide world?" Tony shrugged.

"Are they going to try and convince you not to blow anything up this year?"

"I assume so."

"Are they going to succeed?"

"Now that is a probability that will not come to pass, even with all the right calculations." Tony smirked.

"Have a good holiday?"

"Not as good as Maria's trip to Malibu!" Tony called. "Loving that tan darling! Did Mr Coulson treat you whilst you were there?"

Hill bit her tongue but didn't answer as she filled in forms for some students.

"News travels fast," Tony said, holding up his fancy cell phone.

"Did you see Bruce's new motorbike?" Clint asked.

"Oh, that thing? He was very proud the day he got it. Like a kid and a puppy."

"What's the bet he'll crash it before the week is out?"

"Twenty bucks," Tony said. "Steve holds the cash."

Clint pulled out his wallet. "Damn, I've only got fifteen."

"Let him know you want in on the bet, bring in the money tomorrow." Tony leaned back and put out his cigarette on the plant pot, much to Miss Hill's annoyance. "What about you, did you have a good holiday?"

"Meh," Clint shrugged his shoulders. "It was uneventful."

"The guys and I are meeting up at the Shawarma joint a few blocks from here at the end of the week. You coming?"

"Wouldn't miss it. But please, tell Logan I don't want salad with my fries."

"Agreed there." Tony chuckled. "Oh bloody hell…"

"What?" Clint turned to see a boy with stuck up hair and thick rimmed glasses, his face pretty much up against the glass door. Tony gave a small wave before sighing.

"Peter, kid moved in with his aunt and uncle during the holidays, decided he wanted to stalk me," Tony grumbled as the kid Peter, waved and moved off. "Thor found it endearing and paid the kid to keep doing it even when we were at school."

"To be honest, it is kind of funny,"

"Oh look, there go my kidneys as my sides split."

"You love it," Clint shrugged. "It's like having a fan."

"Bitch, I don't need a fan to know how fabulous I am," Tony smirked.

"But I'm sure it doesn't hurt your ego."

"Ah, that might hold some truth," the other boy replied. "Maria, darling, can we get this over and done with? I have people to harass."

"Stark, I'm a little busy right now," Hill said stapling some things together. "And for the record, school gambling is highly frowned upon."

Tony furrowed his brow then said cheekily. "Do you want in on the bet?"

Miss Hill stared at him for a moment before pulling out her purse and handing over 20 bucks.

"Er, no," He said pointing to Clint.

Miss Hill frowned.

Clint leaned forward and took her money. "He doesn't like being handed things. It's a weird pet peeve of his." He pocketed the money. "I'll give that to Captain America."

"Is that what we're calling him?" Tony asked.

"Have you not heard what he did during the holidays?" Clint raised an eyebrow, the look on Tony's face suggested that he did not. "Well, he was at a Youth Church Christian Camp working as a leader."

"That man couldn't get more patriotic even if we wrapped him in an American Flag and made him punch a Canadian." Tony muttered.

"Now that, I would pay to see,"

"Wouldn't anyone?"

"Sir, Stark is here for his appointment and we have Mr Clint Barton here to explain why he was firing arrows at juniors this morning." Miss Hill said holding the intercom button down.

"_As long as he wasn't firing arrows at my car, I don't care!" _Fury said, his voice crackling from the other end. _"SEND HIM TO CLASS AND GET STARK IN MY OFFICE SO I CAN GET THIS OVER AND DONE WITH!"_

"Sir, Mr Coulson hasn't appeared yet."

"_Since when did you start calling him 'Mr Coulson', what is your problem woman? Just send Stark in here now, and get rid of Barton."_

Miss Hill looked up. "Barton, you can leave."

"Cool," Clint said, getting to his feet, giving Tony a fist pump. "See you in home rep," He moved across the room giving Miss Hill a small two fingered salute and moving off.

"Yeah, hopefully," Tony said, getting up and moving towards Fury's door as Mr Coulson, their long suffering guidance teacher bustled in looking completely floundered. He was carrying six or seven heavy looking folders, a cup of Starbucks coffee and his briefcase. He promptly spilled the coffee over Miss Hill's files, dropped some of the folders, spilling the contents and his briefcase was falling apart. Tony shook his head. "This morning has not been yours has it Phil?"

Mr Coulson gave Tony a dark, annoyed look as Miss Hill joined him in picking up some of the files.

"First day back is always the worst," He grunted. "Sorry about your work Maria."

Miss Hill waved her hands. "Don't worry about it."

"Wow," Tony said. "How good was that holiday?"

"Stark, help us now," Coulson said.

"Pfft, no." Tony replied, pulling out his phone. "You're the one who dropped them."

"STARK!"

"Fine!" Tony picked up some of the files and put them on the desk as Nick Fury opened the door to his office.

"What is going on in here?" He asked, exasperated.

Tony turned. "Well… I'll tell you if you explain how you lost your eye."

"Maria?" Fury asked, raising his eyebrow.

"First morning back," Miss Hill explained.

"Do you have like a special eye-patch? For occasions? School meetings? Family coming over?" Tony asked.

"Get in, sit down, and shut up." Fury said pointing to inside his office.

"Oh… Someone didn't get any naughty during the holidays," Tony muttered, picking up his rucksack and moving into the office. He sat down on one of the seats and began to play with the Newton's cradle on Fury's desk. Coulson then entered followed by Fury. The Principal sat behind the desk and took the toy from Tony, putting it behind him on the shelf.

"You know why you're here," Fury said, his fingers knitting together.

"Uh, yeah… Apparently, I'm volatile, self-obsessed, don't play well with others…" Tony said, leaning back and crossing his legs.

"You cost the science department over $20,000 dollars last year alone," Mr Coulson said.

"Ah, but you're forgetting I paid that all back. In small dollar bills… In a briefcase… We should have worn trench coats and hats and met like Russian spies… That would have been cool…" Tony seemed to drift from the subject.

"That's the problem Tony," Mr Coulson said. "We can't legally expel you, or hold you against criminal charges whilst your parents are out of the country. Your mother is a top lawyer and you father owns pretty much half of America's electrical power…"

"And he is in Moscow developing Hydra Fusion systems that will support a vast ecosystem for over 100 years," Tony replied. "Truth being, I own your asses."

"Thank you for making that blatantly clear," Fury said, rolling his one good eye. "We also can't expel you because of your heart conditions."

Tony felt uncomfortable. They were talking about his heart murmur and it was intensely personal and a touchy subject.

"I take medication for it, why are you making special conditions for something that isn't a big deal?"

"We've been informed that you've not been meeting your doses." Mr Coulson said.

"Who told you that?" Tony asked. "I bet it was Bruce. It's always Bruce. Or Thor… Idiot. I can hardly blame him though, I mean, who would name their kids after Norse Gods anyway…? I'm getting off the subject." He sighed. "My heart murmur is none of your concern. End of discussion."

"Legally we can't do anything," Fury said. "But if you do anything stupid, reckless, irresponsible or dangerous that might harm other students, then I am going to make your school career very difficult. Consider this your warning for the year."

Tony stood up and saluted. "Consider me warned." He smirked.

"And get rid of that stupid beard." Fury said. "It looks ridiculous. Mr Coulson will make notes on your progress and report back to me on a week to week basis."

"Are we done?" Tony asked.

"Not quite," Fury said. "I also want you to go to the school therapist; I've made a first appointment for you." He held out a small post-it note to Tony.

"Thanks," Tony said, looking at the time and date, memorising it quickly, not taking the note.

"Tony, take the note,"

"I'll take it," Mr Coulson said, reaching out and plucking the note from Fury's hand.

"Cool, can I leave now?"

…

"I hate my timetable," Clint muttered as Mr Richards handed them their slips of paper.

"It can't be that bad," Steve said.

"Oh, it is that bad." Clint replied. "I hate science. And I'll get paired with that one person in class who has no clue on what we are doing so I'll have to do all the work and I suck at science."

"You don't suck at science," Steve said.

"He sucks at science," Bruce said, pulling off his glasses and tucking his timetable away in his jean pockets.

"See!" Clint said.

Steve threw Bruce a dirty look to which Bruce replied. "Better agreeing with him than have him self-deprecate for the next hour and a half."

"I never self-deprecate." Clint snapped.

"You're talking to the king of self-deprecation," Bruce said. "I know my kind. I can spot them a mile off."

"What about you Thor?" Steve turned in his seat to face the football jock.

"It is reasonable," He said, holding out his timetable so the others could have a look.

"Has Coach Marko booked you in for all those practice periods?" Steve raised his eyebrows. "He's only doing a few sessions with me before the game against the Wheeler-Nicholson school."

"Do you think we'll win this year?" Clint asked.

"Maybe," Bruce said. "If the team doesn't fight as much as it did last year."

"Which reminds me," Clint said, pulling out $20 and handing it to Steve. "It's Miss Hill's bet." Steve nodded and took the money without question.

"Bet?" Thor asked.

"What bet?" Bruce asked.

"Oh, nothing to worry about." Steve said, tucking the money into his pocket. "Are you not wanting in on the bet?"

"I am, but I only have like fifteen bucks with me today," Clint said. "Who are we betting against?"

"Thor," Steve said.

Thor's eyes widened. "Oh! That bet!"

"Yes, that bet," Steve said.

"Can I get a heads up about what this bet is?" Bruce asked.

"No," Clint said, as Tony walked into the room, all charm and smiles. Mr Richards looked annoyed but handed him his timetable anyway.

"Whassup my bitches?" Tony said, sitting beside Bruce.

"They were just about to tell me what this bet that they have is about." Bruce replied.

"Oh, the one where you crash your motorbike by the end of this week," Tony grinned. Steve, Clint and Thor looked astounded, thinking that Bruce was about to go insane with them all.

"Oh," he said, slightly complacent. "Can I get in on that bet?"

"Whose side are you taking? Mine or Thor's?" Tony asked.

"Thor's, obviously," He replied, taking out his wallet and giving some cash over to Steve. "You're no taking part in the bet?"

"Are you serious? And risk the chance of having my good reputation ruined because of a childish playground bet, no thank you," Steve said.

"Then why are you keeping the money?" Clint asked.

"Because no one trusted me," Tony said supressing a laugh. "Like I need the money… What did you do during the vacation Thor?"

"My brother and I visited our parents." Thor replied.

"'Course, your parents live out of town," Clint said. "And was Loki a little shit like always?"

"Do not say that about my brother," Thor said.

"Tis merely a jest!" Tony cried, mocking the way Thor spoke. "Kidding big guy. But even you have to admit, your brother is kind of…"

"I know," Thor sighed. "What am I to do with him?"

"Put him in a box. Then that box in another box," Clint said. "Then mail that box to yourself. And then when it arrives, smash it with a hammer."

Tony, Steve and Thor all looked at him in slight bewilderment. Bruce merely laughed. "That is a brilliant idea,"

"You're not seriously considering putting Loki into a box?" Thor cried.

"It's a joke," Clint assured him. "We're not going to post Loki in the mail. Imagine the postage costs!"

"I'll take care of that," Tony said, pulling out his phone and tapping away, lowering his sunglasses slightly.

**Um…**

**I hope you liked this haha! Plenty more to come, with a lot more references to Marvel characters, some DC Comic characters will also be making an appearance. Comic book fans are sure to get a few references (me and my sister are really big comic book nerds so…)**

**If you like, please review.**

**If not, please take your flame somewhere else.**


	2. Chapter 2

**WOW!**

**Such brilliant feedback since the last chapter! This makes me and my sister so very excited (ha, even more so than we are already) to be writing this! **

**Some have you have even taken to guessing what we're going to do with other characters like Deadpool! So, yeah… WOW!**

**Okay, well here's the next one!**

**Lots of love! xx**

"Does anyone want to recite one of the sonnets I asked you to revise over the holidays?" Mr Xavier asked, moving across the front of the classroom. The clock was ticking at an incredibly slow pace, even though most of the lesson had dragged to a finish. Tony and Bruce sat together near the back, Thor, Steve and Clint in the other class. It was coming close to lunch time and Tony was more than eager to get out and eat.

Tony kicked Bruce's chair, leaning in. "Were we meant to recite a sonnet?"

"Yeah," Bruce replied with a small smile. "You forgot I assume?"

Tony cursed, a bit too loudly, Bruce shrank back into his book.

"Mr Stark, since you are acquainted with such eloquent vocabulary, why don't you give it a go?" Mr Xavier crossed his hands, the book open in his lap.

Tony cleared his throat. "Verily, forsooth, egates… Er…"

"Well you tried... Vaguely…" Mr Xavier said, clearing his throat and looking around. "Anyone else want to try?" The entire class stayed silent. The balding professor did not look pleased. "So no one did the homework they were assigned? Okay, next Wednesday, I expect every single one of you to have memorized a sonnet, or a speech. No exceptions. And make point, if you do not do it, you will spend the rest of the semester cleaning out the gym department. With toothbrushes."

"Why don't you just cut a pound of flesh from us, eh, Antonio?" Tony muttered, moving with the rest of the class as they were dismissed when the bell rang. Bruce chuckled slightly as they made their way down to the canteen. Students were pushing past them, throwing things at each other, mostly balled up bits of paper, which Dr Pym did not find amusing.

"I mean it's not like we need to know Shakespeare, we're American, shouldn't we be learning… I dunno… Not Shakespeare…?"

"The fact that you can't name an American author that has some historical precedence to the way we use the English language; both saddens and amuses me slightly," Bruce replied.

"I'm just saying! It's the same with French and German! I mean, I'm never going to go to France or Germany, shouldn't we be learning Mexican?" Tony asked.

"I think you mean Spanish,"

"That's not the point I'm trying to make here!"

"Tony, what are you trying to point out?" Bruce asked as a few students moved past. "You don't take either of those languages, so I don't see why you're complaining…"

"I'm just saying, that if they are going to teach us things, they might as well teach us something useful." Tony said. "Shakespeare in the modern context is not useful.

"I don't know… People who can quote Romeo and Juliet are regarded high in my book." A voice said. Pepper Potts, school cheerleader, head of several student committees and Tony's long suffering girlfriend, had appeared beside them, her heels clicking on the stairs.

"You're not going to make me learn Shakespeare, aren't you?" Tony grumbled,

"No dear," Pepper said, Tony grinned giving her a small peck on the cheek. "Although it would be nice to have a boyfriend that has some grasp on English literature."

"And just so I am aware, you don't want to go to France or Germany?" Tony pushed open the doors to the canteen. Very few students were actually inside, making him wonder if it was actually lunchtime at all.

"For a romantic weekend?" Pepper asked, handing Bruce a tray and taking one for herself and Tony to share.

"I hope not, those things cost a fortune," Tony muttered, pulling out his wallet and counting through some of his notes to check he had enough to pay for two.

"Too clichéd," Pepper replied as they joined the queue of students.

"Take her to somewhere else… Like skiing in Switzerland," Bruce said.

"Oh… That would be nice," Pepper said.

"You do realise I'm not planning on taking you there, I was just trying to prove to Bruce that we don't actually need to learn these languages, not when half the world speaks English and the other half speak Mandarin…" Tony smirked.

"Well, then, learn Mandarin," Bruce said, putting a burrito on his tray and pulling out his wallet. "Cola please."

"4 dollars 15 cents,"

"I'm not learning Mandarin!" Tony cried.

"You know, a girl gets very turned on when a guy can romance her in more than one language," Pepper said, knowingly.

"Oh that's so not true,"

"It is!"

"It is," Bruce agreed.

"It really is…" Miss Grey said appearing behind them. "Listen, to them Scott, they know how to romance a woman,"

Mr Summers grumbled something in return, Miss Grey laughing as they moved away from the line. Tony picked up his and Pepper's tray and followed Bruce to the table where Steve and Thor were already sitting.

"It's the first day back," Tony declared. "And I already want to put a bullet through my brain."

"It can't be that bad…" Steve said sympathetically.

"It is that bad." Tony said. "I haven't even blown anything up yet. Do you realise how distressed I am over this?"

"Can't you do that later in the week?" Thor asked.

"No… It's how I celebrate a school year." Tony said, sitting down as Pepper grabbed a seat from another table. "You know that,"

"We have some mint imperials and some cola," Bruce offered half-heartedly.

"Not big enough," Pepper said. "He has to establish his dominance over the school. Like a peacock, stretching its feathers."

"Yes I forgot how big his ego can get." Bruce said.

"Did you just compare me to a bird?"

"I hate Tuesday's," Clint said, dropping his tray onto the table and grabbing a seat. Everyone looked up and Thor raised a golden eyebrow.

"Why is that?" He asked, uncapping his orange juice. "You and Tony make the same remarks; we have only been here for a couple of hours at least."

"Do all British people speak like you, or is it just the posh ones?" Tony asked. "I thought you had been living in America for long enough…"

"Ms Monroe has got me doing all this stupid unnecessary stuff…" Clint continued, to the ones that were actually listening.

"Is that why you were held back?" Steve asked, biting his cheeseburger as Pepper leaned over to grab a few fries from Tony's plate. He let her, listening to Clint and pulling out his cell phone.

"What has she got you doing?" Bruce asked.

"Just… I have to study Othello this year. Othello!"

"See this was the point I was trying to make," Tony said, pushing his cell phone back into his pocket. "We don't need Shakespeare in American schools. Just like we don't need French or German!"

"I like German," Clint said.

Tony fell silent, grumbling under his breath about how everyone was against him. Thor's attention was caught elsewhere and suddenly, he raised his massive arms to catch the attention of his brother, almost knocking Bruce off his seat. Loki stood looking embarrassed, he was almost completely opposite to Thor, his brother being large and muscular with light blond hair and a foolish grin, Loki was thin, jointed with black hair, piercing eyes and a cruel look in his eyes. His clothing choices did very little to help enhance his status, black leather boots, skinny black jeans an old t-shirt that was greying slightly made him look thin and ill most of the time.

"LOKI!" Thor said. "Come join us!"

"Really Thor?" Tony asked. "We hate the kid."

"We don't hate him," Steve said, kicking Tony, missing and hitting Bruce instead. Bruce winced in pain. Steve mouthed 'sorry' in Bruce's direction. "We just think he'd be more apt… With other students…"

"No," Clint said, making a dangerous looking weapon out of his fork and knife. "I'm pretty sure he's an asshole."

Thor brushed the comments aside as Loki stepped towards him, holding the tray. "Yes Thor?"

"Join me and my friends," Thor said a goofy smile on his face.

Loki cast a sharp gaze over at the group of seniors. "And, remind me, why would I want to do that?"

"You looked…" Thor paused.

"Thor, I do appreciate it. But… Your friends do not like me at all, I fear I would cause much discomfort…." Loki replied, with a sad soft smile. He turned and moved away to sit beside one of his friends.

Thor sighed as he watched his brother go. "What am I to do with him?"

Clint opened his mouth before Tony leaned forward, pointing at him. "If you suggest putting him in a box and mailing him to Thor so he could smash it with a hammer, I'm going to have to stop you and tell you now, the postage bill would be so big, even my expenses wouldn't cover it."

The entire table laughed and Tony rested slightly. Clint looked annoyed.

"I was going to suggest talking to him," Clint said. "He might appreciate it."

"Whilst you're on that subject, did Pepper and yours cycle sync yet?" Tony asked.

Pepper rolled her eyes. "I knew it was a mistake sitting with children." She said, getting up and moving across the hall.

"Pepper!" Tony cried. She ignored him and joined Betty Ross and Peggy Carter.

"Oh, you've really done it this time," Steve said.

"She knows I joke," Tony said, waving his hand. He stopped and looked over. "Ooh…" He lowered his purple glasses. "Who's she?" He nodded towards a student with long dark red hair and a pale complexion with striking eyes.

The rest of them turned before Bruce made a very point comment. "NOT ALL AT ONCE!" They ducked down before Bruce continued. "First… Thor." Thor stretched, looking around subtly. "Now, Clint." Clint raised his neck, pretending that he was looking for someone else, making a young girl with a white streak through her hair look very nervous. "Steve…" Steve leaned forward to steal some fries from Bruce's plate, catching a glimpse of the girl. "Now me," Bruce leant down as if to tie his shoe laces, glancing over at the girl. "Tony… Now you."

Tony was the least subtle. He got up, and pulled the girl towards him, shaking her hand. Bruce smacked his hand against his face, exasperated with his friend.

"Hi, my name is Tony Stark," He pulled off his purple sunglasses. "Perhaps you've heard of me?"

The girl showed no sign that she recognised the name, or indeed cared. "What do you want?" She asked.

Tony folded his arms. "You're new? Haven't seen you around?"

"Yes I'm new." She replied. "Not in the area but to this school yes."

"Oh… Cool…" Tony nodded.

"Sorry about him, he doesn't know when to behave socially," Clint apologised, pushing Tony down by the shoulders. "He won't harass you again."

The girl rolled her eyes before moving off; Pepper was signalling her to join her. Tony grinned as he re-joined the table.

"I want one," He informed Steve.

"No," Steve said barely looking up from his sandwich.

Tony sighed. "Okay, I'm going to go catch myself a smoke, see you in physics," He said to Bruce.

"As long as you don't blow anything up in class, I'm there," Bruce replied.

"Cool." Tony patted his friend on the shoulder before reaching into his jean pockets and pulling out a box of cigarettes and a lighter. He tucked the cigarette behind his ear and moved out of the canteen and out to the school gate. He lit it quickly and took a long deep drag, breathing up the smoke into the air, his eyes flickering slightly.

He ran his fingers through his hair and sat down on the kerb, pulling out his cell phone and checking up on his messages. Someone kicked his hand, sending the cell phone flying under an oncoming truck, Tony stood up suddenly face to face with Wade Wilson. Residential class dick.

"Aw…" Wade said. "Did I do something bad?"

"I can make a new one out of the stuff you pass out as blow," Tony replied, giving a small smile.

Wade continued to smirk. "You're an arrogant little cock, aren't you?"

"Wow, after what… 4 years of being in the same class, you've just figured that out?" Tony said. "I applaud your observation skills; you'd make a great Sherlock Holmes."

Wade looked confused. Tony sighed as the bully didn't get the sarcasm in his voice.

"It was joke, Wilson. Jesus Christ…" Tony said, taking a drag. "Bless, you can talk but you're not very bright…"

Wade shoved him against the gate, the bars pressing into Tony's back. His heart was jittering quite badly, he could feel it beating out of rhythm against his rib cage. He swore violently in his head.

"What's wrong?" Wade teased. "You got anyone to protect you!"

"I don't need protection," Tony replied, head butting Wade violently on his skull. "I need a cigarette."

Blood was dripping out of Wade's nose; he stood up, holding his head. "I'll fucking kill you, Stark."

"Good luck with that," Tony replied.

"Tony!" Thor cried, marching towards them. "What's going on?"

"Nothing I can't handle point break," Tony replied.

"What are you looking at?" Wade snapped as Thor looked down at him. Thor was impressive in stature, his height made him known as a giant amongst men and his good arms were really no match for anyone else in the school. Tony was kind of thankfully that he had Thor as a friend.

"A pile of scum that crawled from the earth to lay seed misconduct?" Thor suggested.

"You could have just said 'twat'," Tony said, rubbing his forehead. "I dare say Wade has no concept of English vocabulary. So let us explain it to you in terms you may understand." Tony pulled a very serious face clearing his throat. "I SMART PERSON. YOU DUMB. GET HIT BY CAR."

"Tony," Thor said. "Do we really want to cause more rifts?"

"I suppose not." Tony muttered. "See you later Wade!" He cried in an annoyingly sweet sarcastic voice.

Thor pulled Tony away, taking out the cigarette and disposing of it.

"Thanks man," Tony muttered, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a bottle of pills. He swallowed one dry as they made their way back into the canteen.

"Steve was the one who saw Wade follow you," Thor replied. "Naturally we were concerned."

"Yeah…" Tony smirked.

…

Clint sat down near the back, pulling out a scrap bit of paper and searching his pockets for a pen as students continued to fill the room. One student, the girl that Tony had pretty much harassed during lunch entered, saw the empty space beside Clint and sat down beside him.

"Hey," He said. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Yeah, fancy that," She replied.

A moment of awkward silence passed between them. Clint cleared his throat, looking around the class before remembering that it would be polite to actually introduce himself. He held out his hand.

"Clint Barton," He said. The girl stared at his hand for a moment, before pulling out a bottle of hand disinfectant and rubbing her hands with it. She shook his hand slowly.

"Natasha Romanoff," She said.

"Romanov?"

"Romanoff," She corrected.

"Good, because I actually thought you were descended from…" Clint trailed of, clearing his throat. "Never mind."

Another moment passed between them before Clint spoke again. "Where are you from?"

"Russia,"

"You don't sound Russian," Clint said.

"My family is from Russia. But we move about a lot," Natasha smiled slightly.

"Oh…" Clint licked his lips. "Um… Sorry about my friend at lunch."

"Is he always like that?"

"You learn to live with it." Clint shrugged. "Or at least tolerate it… Bruce is the better one for doing that. The rest of us…"

"Bruce… The long haired blond one?" Natasha asked.

"That's Thor, don't ask why his parents called him that. It's a tradition within their family to name their kids after Norse gods… He has a brother called Loki." Clint realised he was babbling. He stopped himself and smiled over at her. "Bruce was the one in the purple shirt."

"Ah," Natasha said. "And the man in the leather jacket?"

"Steve," Clint replied.

"Betty, Peggy and Pepper never really explained that well…" Natasha said.

"I doubt they would have talked that much about them anyway." Clint shrugged. "There's a lot of ancient history between those girls and my friends… Do you know I can speak Russian?"

"No you can't." Natasha laughed.

"I can!" Clint cried. He cleared his throat again. "Mne nravit – sva krasmi vozglavlyaemykh zhenschchinam"

Natasha laughed. "You like red headed women?"

"Is that a crime?" Clint asked as Mr Wagner entered the class, putting his briefcase down on the desk and beginning to write on the blackboard.

"Not necessarily,"

"You're not very talkative are you?"

"I'm sorry the guys I've met here are… Idiots,"

"If you're talking about Tony, I completely agree. Though don't get him and Bruce in a room with science equipment. Not great socialisers but give them six or seven days alone, they can come up with… Flying cars!"

"Flying cars?"

"Okay that was a poor example." Clint replied, Natasha laughed and he couldn't help but smile along. "Aside from Tony, what idiots have you met?"

"Well there's one sitting beside me…" Natasha tilted her head.

"Cool…" Clint said bouncing on his chair slightly. He stopped and looked around. "Hey!"

Natasha smiled. "I'm joking,"

Clint continued to smile, looking at his feet.


	3. Chapter 3

**Oh… bloody hell…**

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"THOR! PASS THE BALL!" Coach Marko bellowed, cupping his hands over his mouth. Thor continued to run with the football, dodging other team members getting near the end zone. "THOR! PASS THE BALL TO STEVE! THOR!" Marko was now bobbing up and down waving his large juggernaut arms to try and get his attention.

Thor was not paying attention.

"SOMEONE TACKLE HIM!" Steve shouted.

"Not going to work." Bruce muttered, leaning on the bench and scribbling something down on his notebook. Tony lit a cigarette, leaning back blowing out the smoke into the air before offering it to Bruce. He took a drag and gave it back to the now shaven Tony.

"Why not?" Steve asked, moving back to join his friends, pulling off his sports hoodie.

"Thor hasn't tied up his hair," Tony said. "He should really get it cut. Or is he really going for the Norse god look?"

"It's not that," Bruce said. "He's had three red bulls and four cups of coffee. His ears are probably ringing, he can't hear you."

Steve picked up the water bottle beside Bruce and took a long drink. "Why so much caffeine?"

"Blame Tony keeping him up all night," Bruce pointed towards him, pushing his glasses further up his nose.

"Not in that way!" Tony cried, seeing Steve's face. "I was pestering him to give me information about Clint and his special new friend."

"Special new friend?" Steve asked.

"Clint is being really secretive about it. He's told Thor because apparently Thor is the most trustworthy, so I was trying to get some information from him,"

"Ah, why are you so concerned about it?"

"Well she's smoking hot!" Tony said.

"You have a girlfriend," Bruce said absentmindedly.

"So? That means I can't appreciate fine art when I see it?" Tony asked. "And that calculation is wrong,"

"How would you know, you barely looked at it," Bruce said.

"It's wrong," Tony said taking a drag and looking around. "Oh, speak of the devils…" Bruce and Steve looked around to see Clint and the girl that Tony was harassing a few days ago at lunch approaching them. "CLINT!" He shouted. "SHARE SOME OF THE BOOTY!"

Clint said something to the girl and she shrugged before following him over to the stalls. "Hey guys."

"Going to introduce us to your friend?" Bruce asked.

"My name's Natasha," She replied. Bruce stood, pulling off his glasses and giving her hand a small shake.

"Pleased to meet you," He said, sitting back down.

"That's Tony, you've met him," Clint pointed. "And that's Steve."

"STEVEN ROGERS GET BACK ON THE FIELD BEFORE SEVEN SHADES OF HUE ARE KNOCKED OUT OF YOU!" Coach Marko bellowed.

"Nice meeting you," Steve sighed before capping his water bottle and jogging back out to the team.

"And the big guy blatantly ignoring everything is Thor," Clint said pointing to his friend running on the field. Natasha craned her neck before sitting back down.

"So… Natasha…" Tony said, leaning forward. "You're new."

"Aren't you just the regular little detective?" Natasha smirked as she and Clint sat down.

"You two are a cute couple," Tony said. "You should go out."

"Don't berate them Tony," Bruce warned, closing his books and shoving them into his bag before taking the cigarette from his friend and puffing at it.

"I'm just saying." Tony shrugged, pulling out his new cell phone and tipping his hat slightly under the sun. "So, do the curtains match the drapes?"

"Why don't you find out?" Natasha smirked.

Tony paused, looked up from his cell phone and lowered his sunglasses. "Is that an invitation or a double bluff?"

She leaned forward. "You decide."

Tony had begun to stutter. "I-I… I'm in a relationship…"

Clint was laughing hysterically.

"That's not what you were saying five minutes ago," Bruce said.

"Five minutes ago I was appreciating fine art, not sleeping around like a man whore." Tony defended.

"Oh yeah, that sounds like the Anthony Edward Stark we know!" Bruce muttered.

"You actually hang out with these people?" Natasha asked.

"You do learn to live with it," Clint replied, clearing his throat and taking off his hoodie.

"Don't full name me, Bruce, you know that makes me angry,"

"Really?" Natasha asked, looking over at Clint.

"Well, tolerate it at least." He replied, shrugging slightly.

"THOR WILL YOU THROW THE BALL TO STEVE!" Coach Marko shouted.

"It's nice that you hold your friends in such high regard," Tony muttered, tapping at his cell phone with discontinued interest in the conversation. Steve had stopped playing again and was now hovering on the outsides of the playing field. He squinted over at the rest of them before running over.

"My head is just not in the game," He said, sitting down beside Bruce, moving his bag slightly.

"Good thing it's not a proper game," Clint said.

"If it was a proper game, we'd have to do something about it," Tony said. "Coach Marko will not be pleased if we lose against Wheeler-Nicholson again."

Natasha turned and raised her eyebrow. "Who?"

"The school at the other side of town," Clint explained. "Like the Yankees and the Mets… Basically they win almost every year and… Not through talent. Through manipulation. They use dirty tactics."

"Bunch of polished dicks…" Tony muttered.

"Don't start, you're just like them," Steve said. "Especially like Wayne."

"I am nothing like that pompous arrogant…" Tony stopped, looking pissed.

"Wayne?" Natasha asked.

"Bruce Wayne," Bruce said. "Prize jock from the other team. He's smart. But basically, he's an ass."

"Thought you two would get on well," Natasha tilted her head.

"We share the same namesake, that's all," Bruce said, his voice rising sharply. "I have nothing more to do with him."

"Bruce, calm the fuck down," Clint snapped.

Bruce rubbed his chin. "Sorry," He muttered. "That was mean."

"So where you from Tasha?" Tony asked, putting his cell phone back into his pocket.

"Originally Russia," Natasha replied. "But I move around a lot."

"Not related to the Romanov family are you?"

"Not as far as I am aware," She smiled, leaning back, stretching her legs and kicking off her shoes.

"Do you shawarma?" Tony asked. "We're heading over to the joint a few blocks from here after they finish up their practice,"

"What's shawarma?" Natasha frowned, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

"You… Are kidding right?"

"It's a sort of kebab dish," Clint explained. "It's alright, I guess, but the guy who owns the place serves other stuff. Tony takes his shawarma very seriously."

Steve grinned. "I think that's Tony's subtle hint of inviting you out to join us." He said. "You want to come? We'll only be practising for another twenty or so minutes."

"Speaking of which, shouldn't you be actually out practising with them?" Clint asked.

Steve shrugged, leaning back comfortably on the stalls. "I'm sure they can manage without me for a little while. It's not like-"

"THOR PASS THE BALL! Sobbed coach Marko from a distance. They turned to see the coach running after the boy, blowing his whistle. Steve's face blanched.

"Or we could sit here and watch the game," Tony shrugged, pulling out his cell phone to record the disaster that was football practice.

"Pay up," Bruce muttered. Clint sighed and pulled out his wallet, handing over five dollars.

"Enjoy your blood money," Clint said.

"What's that for?" Natasha asked.

"We've only been back for a few days and several teachers have been reduced to sobbing wrecks," Bruce said nodding over towards Thor.

"Perhaps I should…" Steve got up and jogged down as Coach Marko blew his whistle for the final time.

"Alright that's it! Practice is over!" Coach Marko said defeated as his team moved towards him. "Hit the showers. Thor, please next practice, pass the ball to someone else."

Thor frowned. "You wanted me to pass the ball? You should have shouted."

Coach Marko looked exhausted as he sat down on the stalls. "We're not going to win this year either…" He put his head to his hands. Thor grinned massively and climbed over the stalls towards his friends, Steve following behind. Tony put away his cell phone and smiled.

"I think you should do that every game," He said. "Who needs team players when you have Thor?"

Thor laughed before picking up a water bottle and downing it in one enormous gulp. "Who is this?" He asked, nodding towards Natasha.

"That's Tash," Tony said. "Clint's new lady friend."

"Oh," Thor tilted his head. "Are you coming to supper with us?"

"What to the shawarma joint?" Natasha asked.

"You never actually said if you were coming or not," Clint said, twisting his fingers.

"If you don't mind," Natasha said.

"Cool." Thor said before lifting his mammoth hands to wave at Jane Foster. She waved back before continuing with Betty and Darcy. "Steve and I shall go shower and return in a few moments."

Steve smiled sheepishly before following Thor to the changing rooms. Natasha was frowning as she turned to look at the others.

"He's British," Bruce said. "Descended from nobility or something like that. He's a bit odd."

"A bit?" Tony said.

…

"A good meal?" Logan asked, moving towards them, wiping his hands on his grubby apron.

"Bloody marvellous," Tony said, leaning back, stretching. "Though, you couldn't get us some more soda?"

"Get off your lazy ass and do it yourself, the fridge is two feet from you," Logan replied.

"Ooh, touchy," Tony said moving to get up. Bruce rolled his eyes before getting up and fetching him a bottle of cola. He held it out to Tony before remembering his friend's pet peeve. He put it on the table and let Tony reach out and take it himself.

"Thanks Brucey babes," He said, opening it. He gave him a wink and Bruce rolled his eyes.

"How'd you enjoy the meal?" Logan looked over at Natasha who smiled.

"It was good," She said. "Maybe not what I expected."

"What did you expect?" Clint asked, helping himself to the last of the chicken wings.

"Well not four star dining at least," Steve snorted.

Natasha tilted her head, looking around at the tiny restaurant. It was tacky to say the most, with road signs and sing trout's nailed to plaques running across the walls. There were only a few tables, their group occupying one of the larger ones. Logan seemed very proud of his restaurant, so she supposed it would be rude to say anything against it.

"Well, it just wasn't the way I expected it to be," She reassured the owner.

"In a good way or a bad way?" Logan asked, scratching the sideburns that ran down his chin.

"In a good way," Natasha smiled.

"Oh good, otherwise I would charge you double for what you ordered." Logan said. "Which seems to be what I do for Thor…"

Thor looked up, still eating, finishing the rest of the food. "What?" He asked.

"Nothing big guy," Tony laughed. He sat up. "I've got it! 'The League of Extraordinary Gentleman'!"

"No Tony, that's crap!" Clint said. "Besides, we have a woman here now."

"You consider me part of the group?" Natasha asked, leaning forward.

"Yeah, why not?" Clint shrugged.

"What?" Bruce looked up. "What's going on now?"

"Tony wants to give our group a name. Like the Plastics but not the plastics," Clint replied. "I made a bet with him that he couldn't come up with one by the end of the school year."

"I'm going to keep trying." Tony muttered, picking up a napkin and wiping in between his fingers.

"Speaking of bets," Bruce said all of a sudden looking cheery. "You lot owe me and Thor about 60 bucks. I didn't crash my motorbike."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Fine, okay," He began to reach into his wallet, before stopping and looking over at Bruce.

"No," Bruce said, raising his finger. "No, I know that look Tony, whatever you're thinking, stop thinking it now."

Tony began to grin. "Why don't we extend the bet into next month?"

"No, give me my money Tony," Bruce said.

"Actually, we should extend the bet…" Steve said. "It's barely been a week, who's to say you won't crash it tomorrow."

"Exactly," Tony smirked.

"Such faith my friends have in me," Bruce said.

"I'm not saying you are going to crash, but… You never know!" Steve defended.

"What do you think Thor?" Clint asked. "Should we extend the bet?"

Thor looked up and blinked. "Yes."

Bruce opened his mouth to protest, but Thor cut across him. "Though I feel we should add 20 dollars each week until the bet ends."

"Fair enough," Tony said. "Logan, you want in on it?"

"The only time I gamble is when I play poker with the boys," Logan said. "Not dirty playground bets."

"Your loss," Tony shrugged.

"Thanks, one less person making money out a potential accident that could kill me," Bruce said.

"You were okay with the bet a few days ago," Clint said.

"That's because I knew I wouldn't crash within a week of actually getting the bike," Bruce replied.

"He has a point," Natasha shrugged.

"Woah, sweetheart you don't get a say in this," Tony said. "You're not a part of the bet."

"I want in," Natasha replied. "Only I'm betting for Bruce."

"Thank you Natasha," Bruce said.

"Fine," Tony said. "Give your money to Steve."

Natasha pulled out her wallet and counted a twenty, handing it over to Steve. He checked the money before stuffing it away safely.

"So when will the bet end?" Clint asked.

"When I want it to." Tony said.

"No, that's not fair," Thor said. "Logan, you should decide."

"Oh, I don't care," Logan replied, moving behind the counter. "Make it for the end of the school year."

"Done," Tony smirked.

"I hope you lot have enough money," Logan smirked. "Kid's not going to crash his bike."

"Shut up Logan!" Tony called.

"I suppose now would be a good time to bring up the bill…"

"Not until Thor finishes eating," Steve said as Thor let out a mighty belch. "Finished?"

"No, are you done with that?" He pointed at Clint's fries.

"Knock yourself out," Clint said, handing the plate over to Thor who took happily.

Tony sighed. "Alright, I think we better be clearing off," He cleared his throat as the rest of them piled some money onto the table to pay for the bill. Tony counted the money and Bruce recalculated. Steve glanced over the money before agreeing and picking it up, handing it to Logan.

"So, I'm not getting a tip?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Only when you start cleaning the floor and stop swearing at the radio every five minutes because they play something you don't agree with," Tony shrugged, pulling on his jacket and standing up.

Logan shrugged. "Seems fair."

Clint stretched as he got up, rubbing down his stomach as he did. Bruce got up and slurped the last of his soda before waving goodbye to the rest of them.

"WOAH BRUCE!" Tony shouted, running after him. They disappeared out of the door. Steve grinned picking up his bag and making his way out of the restaurant. Thor followed, still eating the leftovers. Natasha sat smiling to herself, still picking at the leftovers. Clint looked at her.

"You coming?" He asked.

"Urm…" Natasha smiled. "No. It's okay."

Clint sat down opposite her. "You okay? Were you put off by the guys? Sorry just thought you'd like…" he stopped, clearing his throat and glancing down at his feet. "It's cool if you don't want to hang with us. Inviting you to shawarma with us was their way of saying, 'you're cool',"

Natasha tucked a strand of hair from her face. "I'm not worried about that Clint,"

"You want to talk about it?" Clint said. "I'm not great with that… But I can give it a go."

Natasha laughed.

"OI!" Logan shouted. "This isn't group therapy. Clear off so I can clean up."

"Do you ever clean up Logan?" Clint snapped.

"No, but I would like the option," Logan replied.

"Then you can wait a few more minutes can't you?"

Logan grumbled something as he dipped back into the kitchens. Natasha leaned forward. "Go," She said. "I'm going to stick around here for a little longer."

Clint shrugged. "Whatever you say," He got up, picking up his bag. "But you'll let me know if-" A car horn sounded outside. Clint sighed. "Tony literally has no patience. Do you need a ride home."

"I was just going to take the bus." Natasha replied.

"Well…" Clint smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow then,"

"Yeah, bye."

He gave her a small wave before leaving. Natasha leaned back on her chair as Logan emerged from the kitchen. "Are you still here?"

"Sorry," Natasha replied, still looking at the door. The owner rolled his eyes before lighting a cigarette and moving to clear up the tables.

"I've seen that look before," He said.

"No you haven't," Natasha replied. "You barely know me."

Logan paused, he began to pick up the rubbish and put it onto a tray before moving towards the back. Natasha got up and helped clear some of the crap from the table.

"What look?" she asked, handing him some plates. He took them without question, no look of surprise on his face.

"Not my place," He replied.

"Are they good?"

"Good?"

"You know what I mean. Can I trust them?" Natasha asked.

"Ah, trust issues," Logan tapped his head, putting his cigarette between his teeth. His dog tags clicked together as he looked for a dish cloth. "And you're asking me…?"

"You seem to know them quite well." Natasha shrugged.

"Only because they've been coming here ever since their sophomore year," He stopped and took out his cigarette. "What do you want to know? That Tony's a dick? But probably one of the best individuals you'll ever meet? Steve is a conceited, but charitable. That Thor is an idiot, but one of the biggest hearts you'll ever know. Bruce may have a lot of anger issues to sort out, but he's a great guy who, once you get to know him, he's a sassy little motherfucker... And Clint… Well Clint has a good heart. Trust me, compared to the other losers at that school like Wade Wilson; you're hanging out with some of the better ones."

Natasha smiled. "I'm the only girl though…"

"So what if you're the only girl?" Logan shrugged. "Besides you're not. There's Pepper, Peggy, Jane and Betty. Sure they've got some… Relationship issues between the boys, but who doesn't?"

"You've known them a long time?" Natasha asked.

"Oh don't make me sound old sweetheart," Logan said, picking up the last of the remains and giving the table a quick squirt with disinfectant. He wiped it down and stood up before moving towards the door and changing the sign to "closed". He smiled gently.

Natasha tapped the counter before standing a little straighter. "Thanks," She said.

"No problem love," Logan shrugged, before disappearing into the kitchen, leaving Natasha to rearrange her thoughts. She smiled slightly and picked up her bag and leaving the restaurant.


	4. Chapter 4

"I really don't care for biology…," Steve said reaching into his locker and pulling out some heavy books, Bruce was leaning against the lockers, his arms folded. "I mean, it's fine and all… But hardly my best subject… Much rather be doing History,"

"Yeah because that's gonna help you in the future," Bruce quipped. Steve rolled his eyes but smiled slightly, it was rare of Bruce to actually show any sort of confidence, so he let it slide casually. Steve shrugged, catching Peggy Carter's eye as she passed. She gave him a small wave and he returned it. Bruce watched with raised eyebrows.

"Are you two ever going to go out?" He asked.

"What?" Steve looked over. "No!" he slammed his locker shut and jumped, noticing Peter Parker standing there looking up at him. "Hey man," Steve said, he pointed. "Don't creep up on people. It's not fun…!"

"Nervous disposition," Bruce smiled from behind.

"Hey, I was looking for Tony, you seen him?" Peter asked. "A parcel was dropped off at my apartment this morning. His parcel, I should say, and I checked around his but he wasn't there… Aunt May told me I should just give it to him whilst I'm at school."

"If you have the parcel, we can take it off your hands," Bruce said, shrugging slightly. "We're seeing Tony in biology."

Peter fumbled for a moment then pulled out a small parcel and handed it to Steve. "Thanks man," he said.

"No problem," Steve replied, stuffing it into his bag as Peter moved off down the corridor. A thought occurred to him as he swung his bag over his shoulders and beginning to walk down the hall. "Why couldn't he just have left it outside Tony's apartment?"

Bruce shrugged, pulling his bag over his shoulder and moving along with him. "Don't know… Maybe he just wants to bask in your weird sort of popularity…" He paused, smiling to himself. "So… You and Peggy…"

"Shut up Bruce." Steve said, but he couldn't help but smile.

"You guys would be good together…" Bruce rubbed his wrist and loosened his watch. "Have you thought about what she asked you before summer vacation?"

Steve sighed. "It's all I thought about over the two months,"

"Well, you know what I'm about to say,"

"I do, but for the sake of common courtesy, don't say it," Steve replied.

Bruce tilted his head, shrugging. "All right man,"

"Hey come on… I'm not the only one with relationship problems,"

"I know that."

"I mean look at Tony and Pepper."

"Ah, but that can easily boil down to the fact that Tony is a dick," Bruce said as they made their way up the stairs. "Everyone has problems with relationships. But Peggy is offering herself to you… Why won't you do anything about it?"

"I… We… She…" Steve sighed, holding one of the doors open for his friend. "She only likes me because I buffed after sophomore year."

"I'll admit that was a contributing factor," Bruce said. "But I'll also remind you that you two were lab partners for all of sophomore and junior year. She must have liked you before you went on your… Fitness routine…"

Steve sighed. "You're not going to drop this are you?"

"Would you rather me or Tony bug you about it?" Bruce asked, raising his eyebrow.

Steve stopped, his face mortified at the thought of Tony knowing. His eyes widened. "You're not going to say anything in front of Tony?" Steve asked.

Bruce chuckled slightly. "Calm down, I was joking. Tony doesn't need to know."

"Need to know what?" Tony asked, appearing behind Bruce and startling them both. He wasn't paying much attention, checking his cell phone for messages.

"Nothing," Steve stuttered.

Tony frowned, looking up at the jock. "When you say… 'Nothing', you mean something, don't you? I don't like secrets that much, you might as well spill before I do a background check on everything that you've said in the last two months."

"It's nothing," Steve said again, his voice cackling with fear of the threat. He knew Tony was yanking his leg but he didn't feel that it was fair of him to do it.

"Right," Tony gave him a look before returning to his cell phone. "I could check your mail if you really want…? Anything embarrassing that your mom and dad have ordered? I'll find out at the drop of a hat…"

"Reminds me," Bruce said nudging Steve. "Peter… Your neighbour Tony, for goodness sakes… Found us and dropped off a parcel that was left for you." Steve pulled out the parcel and handed it to Tony who rattled it slightly.

"Cool," Tony said, stuffing it into his bag.

"What is it?" Bruce asked.

"Nothing…" Tony shrugged.

"And by nothing you mean…?"

"Nothing," Tony smirked giving Bruce a wink.

"I hate it when you keep secrets from us," Bruce muttered, as they walked silently down the corridors. Tony shrugged in return, not caring that much. "It is a lot more dangerous when you keep things from us… I usually suspect that the U.S army intelligence taskforce is involved somehow."

"Now why would you suspect that?"

"Do you want a list?" Steve asked, opening the doors to the classroom and holding it open for everyone.

Biology was easily the most interesting subject, mainly because Dr Hank Pym was brilliant to hang around. His assistant Miss Van Dyne was intelligent and quick witted, keeping them all on their toes. She was light, small with a pixie haircut and bright yellow jeans and sort of bounced when she walked.

Bruce entered, dropping his bag down and sitting beside Clint. Natasha sat in front, and was joined much to her dismay by Tony. Tony was as he usually was, he tried to hit on her, realising it was a waste of his time before leaning back on his chair and putting his feet on the table. Clint had put his bag on the table and was napping on it.

"And what did you do during the weekend that got you so exhausted?" Bruce asked lightly, twirling his pen between his fingers.

"I killed a bear." Clint murmured, not opening his eyes.

Natasha turned sharply. "You did what?"

"By 'bear' I assume you meant a fly," Tony snipped listening absent-mindedly, not looking up from his cell phone. "God I need a cigarette," He mumbled.

"Nope… I killed a bear." Clint repeated, not looking up. He sounded exhausted.

"He's lying," Natasha snorted, rolling her eyes.

"What kind of bear?" Bruce asked lightly taking out his notebook and making a small note to remind him of something.

Clint shrugged. "I didn't ask, it wasn't so interested in letting me know what it's Latin name was..."

"Grizzly? Polar?" Steve asked raising an eyebrow and holding out his palms as he sat down after looking through his bag.

"Polar," Clint replied sleepily.

"Told you he was lying," Tony said, nodding towards Natasha with a snarky smug look on his face.

"Fine," Clint murmured. "I lied. But it was convincing though…"

"No, it wasn't," Natasha replied giving him a nudge with her finger. Clint reacted to it, but didn't look up. She rolled her eyes, flicking her hair out of the way.

Tony finally spoke up again, looking away from his cell phone at long last. "Oh my god, you two should go out."

Natasha stared at him; he shrank back into his seat and smiled as Clint looked up, blinking. "We…What?" He asked completely confused.

"You should go out!" Tony insisted. "You'd make such a cute little couple!"

"Tony, don't be ridiculous," Natasha rolled her eyes.

"Exactly," Clint was stumbling over his words. "Besides, she wouldn't be interested in-"

"Besides," Natasha cut across him. "He's gay,"

Tony, Bruce and Steve all turned to look at Clint who turned a strange shade of purple. "I'm not gay."

"Wow, you let her know before us?" Tony sighed. "Thanks for the vote of confidence there…"

"I'm not gay!" Clint cried.

"You're not?" Natasha asked.

"No!"

"Oh."

"Oh my god," Tony breathed. "This is better than _Grey's Anatomy_."

"It's a sad state of affairs when I know what you are referring to." Bruce muttered.

"I…" Steve was frowning. "What's _Grey's Anatomy_? Is it that show that's always on at your house Clint?"

Clint's face went even darker in shade. Natasha raised an eyebrow as Miss Van Dyne entered before shaking her head.

"Urgh," Tony said. "I want them to be together more than I wanted House and Cuddy to make it work…"

"Stop watching TV," Bruce said.

…

Thor sighed as his brother left with a snarky remark. "I try only to be there for him," He said sitting down at the table. "Why does he treat me so poorly?"

"Maybe because… Maybe it's because he's adopted, he doesn't feel like he's really loved," Bruce tried, burger in hand. He sighed, looking at it before letting it land on the plate. He wiped his fingers and smiled.

"But I have done nothing to make him feel unloved." Thor said.

"He's a dick," Clint muttered, flicking bits of napkin into Steve's food with incredible accuracy.

"Be nice," Steve said.

"Okay, for a dick, he's rather good looking," Clint replied, giving Steve a look. "Look, Captain-Hating-Canada, he acts like a dick, he gets treated like a dick."

"You'd know all about dicks," Tony smirked, not looking up from his cell phone. God only knew what he did on it that was so interesting.

"Please be a little kinder towards my brother," Thor said as Clint turned and threw a fry at Tony's head, hitting him square in the forehead. Tony looked around, peering over his sunglasses, and ready to give a witty retort but found himself in a sparring match with Wade Wilson once more as he passed with a tray in hand, accompanied by Felicia Hardy and trailing behind them was Peter.

"Nice aim Barton," Wade smirked. "Nice make-up Stark,"

"I would like you a lot more if you didn't speak as much." Tony muttered.

"Yeah, I would like it if you had died at birth."

"Ooh, that's harsh." Tony shook his head.

"Ladies, cut the crap." Felicia sighed, moving her plates around on the tray, her eyes twinkling slightly.

"Hey Felicia."

"Stark, go choke on your spit."

"Charming. You'll make any man very pleased he married you." Tony said.

"I'm bisexual."

"Apologies; man or woman," Tony corrected himself, he looked over at Steve. "See, I am respectful to others,"

Steve rolled his eyes, sighing and sitting back as Clint pinged another bit of napkin into the sandwich. To combat this, Steve picked up the tray that sat to Bruce's left and used it to make a shield for himself. It didn't stop Clint from trying to aim over it and succeeding.

Natasha sat down beside Clint and began to take her food off from her tray. "Why the glum faces?"

"Loki," Bruce informed her. "And Wilson and Hardy. They put Tony in a sour mood."

"Oh," Natasha looked at Clint. "And you're looking grumpy because?"

"Because he loves you and doesn't realise it yet." Tony said, leaning forward, putting his chin in his hands. "It's really quite beautiful."

"I'm going to go sit with the girls," Natasha said, putting all her food back on the tray and getting up.

"Urgh," Tony sighed. "Maybe I should go talk to Pepper. Haven't spoken to her in a while… Oh and Steve…" He drawled. "When are you and Miss Peggy Carter going to go official? Or am I going to have to set you two up like I did with Natasha and Clint?"

"You have a thing for Peggy?" Clint raised an eyebrow. "Do tell."

"He has a very big thing for Peggy," Tony grinned wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"And at this point I will leave," Natasha said. "When men start talking about their sexual organs, it is time for the women of the world to sit and laugh at how insignificant they are."

"OI!" Tony cried. "The sexual organs or the men?"

She was already gone. Clint watched her leave before turning his attention back towards Tony. "You know you might want to tone it down."

"Tone what down?" Tony asked. "Wait…" he leaned forward. "Are you looking out for her?"

"No," Clint pinged a piece of napkin onto Tony's forehead. "That's… You're being ridiculous."

"Ah…" Tony leaned back a look playing smugly on his face.

"Clint, she could probably knock ten times as much crap out of anyone than all of us combined." Steve laughed, before looking at Thor nestled between Tony and Bruce and tucking into a massive club sandwich. "Well, besides the God of Thunder,"

"Is that what we're calling him now?" Bruce raised an eyebrow.

"I like it," Thor proclaimed. "But if I'm a god then you're puny mortals."

"We're sending you back to England," Clint muttered. "I can't take much more of this."


End file.
